As Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson ended his silence by apologizing for their ugly season, perhaps the best example of the disconnect with his coach came as John Fox was asked Wednesday about that letter sent to permanent seat license holders.

The Carolina Panthers have scored a league-low nine touchdowns and average an NFL-worst 11.6 points a game. And those ugly numbers were posted before the media relations staff had to switch to a tiny font to get all the players jammed onto Wednesday's injury report.

During more than two months of losing, San Francisco coach Mike Nolan succeeded in keeping the 49ers upbeat and loose. It didn't mean a giant weight wasn't lifted when they finally ended their eight-game losing streak last week against Arizona.

In the franchise's glory years, last-minute drama for the San Francisco 49ers was reflected with cool-headed Joe Montana calmly orchestrating a precise drive down the length of the field. Now it's more like hold your breath.

The San Diego Chargers' vaunted defense finally got a challenge. Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson couldn't say the same. Tomlinson set a franchise scoring record with a career-best four touchdowns rushing, and Rivers passed for a career-high 334 yards and two more scores in the Chargers' 48-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.